Meet the maker
MEET THE MAKER
Anne-Louise Laflamme is the designer and maker behind DANA Jewellery, a brand that upcycles old vinyl records into unique contemporary jewellery. Since 2010, she has been rescuing hundreds of unplayable records from ending up in landfills. She works from her home studio in Sneem, Ireland, and her creativity is greatly fuelled by the wild county Kerry landscape.
The idea of reusing vinyl came to her at a recycling centre while on a trip in New Zealand in 2009 where she spotted the image of a vinyl record bowl on a wall. Having just completed a jewellery-making course in Québec, she was thrilled by the potential of vinyl record as a creative material.
Over the years, she has developed a distinctive visual language that merges graphic collage, bold patterns, and clean geometry with the tactile history of vinyl. Balancing artisan skills with innovation, her collections range from playful and vibrant to clean and minimalist and reflect an ongoing dialogue between material, form, and story. Each design is lightweight yet durable, reflecting a sustainable ethos rooted in slow fashion and creative upcycling.
Sustainability is at the heart of DANA Jewellery. Beyond reusing vinyl, Anne-Louise works with recycled and recyclable packaging. Her aim is not only to craft eye-catching jewellery but also to spark curiosity about our relationship with “waste”. Used materials that would otherwise be disposed of deserve to be honoured, transformed, and celebrated. Every DANA design has a past life and a new story to tell.
Her work has been featured, amongst others, in Irish Country Magazine’s Meet the Maker series and is also stocked in many shops across Ireland.
Instagram & Facebook: @creationsdanajewellery
Email: info@danajewellery.com
I had the privilege of featuring in the March-April '23 LOVE issue of the Irish Country Magazine as part of their 'Meet the maker' series.
A huge thank you to Niamh Devereux for this opportunity.
Here is a transcript of the article.
Tell us the story behind it all? The idea of using records came to me in 2010, while on a solo trip around New Zealand after I'd completed a two-year course in jewellery making in Quebec. It was one of those "aha!" moments that happened at a recycling centre / charity shop filled to the brim with bric-a-brac. On a wall was an image of a vinyl record bowl. That is when I thought of using vinyl as a material to make things. As soon as I returned from my trip I started experimenting with old records and I was so thrilled at the idea of giving a new life to an object otherwise headed for landfill.
What is the ethos of your brand? Innovative and creative upcycled slow fashion that sparks curiosity. Through my designs I hope to rethink our relationshiop with 'waste' and to see it as a material with a story to be honoured and used to infuse beauty and wonder in this wild world. I aim at keeping the environmental impact low by also using plastic free and recycled and/or recyclable (FSC certified) packaging as well as plant-based resin.
What is your working process like? When an idea pops up for a new design, I sometimes sketch but usually I start by cutting out shapes from old vinyl sleeves. There's a lot of rearranging until I'm satisfied. Production an then start and a lot of time is spent in the studio making stock for my online shop and stockists. As a one-woman show, I do wear many hats and my working process can vary greatly in the course of one day as I switch from photographer to social media manager to accountant to designer!
What inspires your collections? Inspiration comes from an eclectic mix of the most mundane and random things from everyday life that will somehow spark an idea, with what I find visually appealing. For example, my love of bold patterns, collage and graphic elements such as fonts is translated to the POP collection, while the Minimal collection celebrates my appreciation of clean and minimal design. The Funky collection uses the vinyl record label and is fun and quirky. Also the beautiful Kerry landscape keeps me inspired and my daily excursion in nature plays a huge part in my creative process.
You seem to like working with metallics, and say that copper is your favourite; why so? I love the duality of a "noble" shiny metallic tone combined with a scratched vinyl record that had technically finished its life as a musical artefact and was headed for the dump. That tension between materials that at firs glance have nothing in common but gracefully come together in the end is thrilling. My love of copper is quite visceral; I love the warmth it brings to a design.
Have you created any pieces that have a particularly special significance to you? Yes, I remember a set I made for a man who wanted something special for his wife for their wedding anniversary. He sent me Islands in the Stream in the post, which was their favourite album back when they got married. Needless to say, I had Dolly and Kenny stuck on repeat in my head the whole tie I worked on that commission.
What is your future vision for the brand? I want to bring more art to the brand by designing and making exclusive statement mixed media pieces that celebrate my ethos of creative upcycling and slow making. I've reached a good balance with my current collections, to which I add new designs on a regular basis and the artist in me is itching to create one-off pieces.
Finally, is there a record that you would refuse to cut up in your line of work? Oh, there are just too many, but I remember one time sorting through a box of donated records and finding some Bowie, Rolling Stones and Velvet Underground to name just a few. Needless to say, they never made it to the "for jewellery" stack. Most of the records I use are low quality pressing compilations or are so scratched I wonder have they been dragged through a field. So, no need to worry you vinyl lovers out there, as no good records are harmed in the making of my designs!